I was trying to remember where it was after I’d stepped in from the sad girl’s garden, but panic was spreading through my veins like poison. My heart was beating in my ear, and I was starting to hyperventilate.
Maybe I pressed the square or maybe I didn’t, but someone did. A man stood outside of the opening. He was masked.
I pulled my gun on him.
Before I could say anything, he yanked me toward him and pressed the square, closing the door right as I thought I heard someone coming up the stairs.
“You don’t want to be alone with him, baby girl,” the masked man said.
“Quentin?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Keep walking.”
Until he pointed it out, I hadn’t realized that I was trying to stop.
“Who was that?”
“My guess? Boy Conte.”
After a few more steps, the little cabin we’d parked by came into view. It still looked the same. For some reason, that surprised me. It seemed like the entire world had changed after I’d come up from the underside of it.
Quentin opened the passenger side door to a truck that was parked next to the car Aniello and I had come in. Abe was in the passenger seat, a mask on his face too. He pointed a gun at us, until he realized it was us.
“Aniello,” I said. “He’s—”
“Don’t worry about your man,” Abe said. “Half of them will be dead by morning, and the other half will wish they were.”
“Get in, baby girl,” Quentin said, nodding to the back cab of the truck. His eyes flickered to the path we’d come off every so often.
I lifted my gun again.
Before I could say anything, Abe rolled his eyes. “Fucking Assanti,” he said. “Wouldn’t trust his own mamma with you. We don’t know shit about either of you that’s a secret, but we’re supposed to tell you that we’re supposed to tell you something that no one else knows. Even though we have no fucking clue what no one else knows, or that’s okay to tell you. We know stuff that happened before, but Assanti would kill us—”
“He’s a clever motherfucker,” Quentin said, cutting Abe off. “It’s a way to pass the test, but he still never gave anything away about the two of you.” Then he pointed to the cab again.
He helped me inside. I noticed after he shut the door, Abe locked it, until Quentin made it to the driver’s side. We were on the road a second later.
I couldn’t stop shivering. I could barely keep the sob that was still lodged in my heart from exploding from my mouth.
My best friend was gone.
My—Aniello was left behind.
My dog was—
“My dog,” I barely got out. My teeth were starting to chatter. “M-my d-d-dog.”
Quentin glanced at me from the rearview mirror. “What about your dog, baby girl?”
“I n-n-need my dog. She’s—I left her home. I need my dog. I c-c-can’t lose her too.”
“Assanti didn’t say anything about the dog,” Abe said.
Quentin met my eyes. “I’m sure she’s fine. We’ll get her.” He nudged Abe. “Call Sharon. See if Assanti dropped her off.”
I rested my head against the window, my heavy breaths fogging it up. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I felt hot, drenched in sweat. Soaked, and overheated, but chilled at the same time. My chest hurt. It hurt to breathe.
I couldn’t remember. Anything.
